Third Staten Islander sent to prison in stock scam

Joseph Pappalardo, 29, reported to the federal penetentiary in Loretto, Pa., on Monday to begin serving his two-year sentence, becoming the third Staten Islander convicted in a $3.5 million stock fraud scam that was run out of a New Dorp office.

Pappalardo, 29, his bother-in-law Ronald Turner, Miron Vinokur and Vincenzo Danio were charged by federal prosecutors in February of 2005 with bilking 160 unsuspecting investors and pocketing almost $1 million out of the $3.5 million.

Spinning a web of deception over three years beginning in December 2001, the defendants lured their marks into buying futures contracts tied to foreign exchange rates, only to charge them hidden commissions disguised as trade losses.

Pappalardo, Vinokur and Danio all cut plea deals with prosecutors and Vinokur's 366-day sentence ended in April, when he was relased. Danio is currently serving a 30-month sentence in a federal facility in Lewisburg, Pa. Turner's case is still pending.